Method for signaling and processing incoming calls for a call center

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method for signaling and processing incoming calls for a call center. The invention further relates to a corresponding exchange and a corresponding call center. According to the invention, incoming calls for the call center and the subscriber numbers of the callers are signaled to the call center by the exchange via an Internet protocol link between the exchange and the call center.

[0001] The invention relates to a method for signaling and processingincoming calls for a call center as claimed in patent claim 1, as wellas to a switching center as claimed in patent claim 5 and to a callcenter as claimed in patent claim 8.

[0002] Call centers are used in particular for processing telephonerequests, for example in administration centers, in insurance companies,in mail-oriented companies, and for home or direct banking. For thispurpose, the call center has a group of employees, who are also referredto as agents and respond to the requests by telephone. For efficientprocessing of the telephone requests and answers, the agents areprovided with appropriate technical equipment, such as PCs, via whichthey can access databanks with information, for example, about thecaller.

[0003] One major aspect in a call center is the signaling of a telephonerequest or of an incoming call, as well as the subscriber access numberor subscriber number of the caller. A further important aspect is thecontrol of the signaled call, that is to say by way of example callacceptance and the setting up of a call connection, or else the passingon of calls to other agents with special knowledge if it is evident fromthe profile that that caller requires specialized advice.

[0004] Until now, incoming calls in call centers have been distributedby an automatic call distribution system (ACD) to the agents' telephonesor PCs for processing. The distribution has been carried out either viathe call center's own telephone network or via the public telephonenetwork, when the agents are located at different points.

[0005] Calls and subscriber numbers may be signaled, by way of example,via the ISDN D channel. If the agent has a PC with CIT (ComputerIntegration Telephony), then the incoming call and the subscriber numbermay also be signaled, by way of example, directly on the PC monitor. Theagent can then use the subscriber number to check a caller profile froma databank, via his PC. The setting up of a call connection or thepassing on of the call to a specialist agent is carried out by the agenthimself, by means of the signaling techniques of the public digital ISDNtelephone network.

[0006] However, ISDN is used to widely differing extents in differentcountries: while ISDN is now widely used in Europe and, in particular,in Germany, ISDN is less widely used, by way of example, in the USA. Incontrast, the Internet Protocol is becoming ever more widely used andmay now even be used for the transmission of (telephone) call signals,for example using the voice over IP format.

[0007] The object of the present invention is thus to provide a methodfor signaling and for processing incoming calls for a call center, whichmay be used in particular in conjunction with telecommunicationsnetworks using analog signaling techniques, and to provide acorrespondingly configured switching center as well as a correspondingcall center.

[0008] This object is achieved by means of a method having the featuresof patent claim 1, as well as by a switching center having the featuresof claim 5 and by a call center as claimed in claim 8. Preferredembodiments of the invention can be found in the dependent patentclaims.

[0009] One essential feature of the method according to the invention isthe linking of a call center to a switching center via an InternetProtocol connection, that is to say via a connection via which data istransmitted using the Internet Protocol. The switching center receivescalls for the call center together with the subscriber number of acalling subscriber. The received calls are detected by the switchingcenter as calls for the call center, and are signaled via the InternetProtocol connection to the call center together with the subscribernumber. The call center in turn controls the signaled calls through theInternet Protocol connection via the switching center in that, by way ofexample, requests to set up a call connection are transmitted to theswitching center, or a call is passed on to another subscriberconnection, for example to another call center with experts.

[0010] The switching center may in particular use the EWSD (Germanabbreviation for Electronic Digital Dialing System) switching systemfrom the Siemens Company, or some other digital switching center, butrequires an Internet Protocol interface, such as the EWSD InterNode fortransmission via the Internet Protocol connection.

[0011] With the method according to the invention, the signalinginformation about incoming calls for the call center is advantageouslyavailable in the Internet Protocol and can thus be processed furtherdirectly in an Internet session in the call center, in particularlargely automatically. Another major advantage of the invention is thatthe signaling and control between the call center and the switchingcenter take place independently of the protocol of the telephone ortelecommunications network to which the switching center and the callcenter are connected. There is thus no need for ISDN, in order to usethe method. The call center can itself process the signaling informationin the Internet Protocol, for example passing it on via a computernetwork within the call center to an agent's PC, or else can pass it onvia an Internet Protocol connection between a number of call centersdirectly to a specific call center in which, for example, there areexperts with particular technical know-how in order to answer calls fromspecific subscribers. This passing-on process can advantageously becarried out via the world-wide Internet, so that the signalinginformation can be passed on to a call center in a foreign country.

[0012] However, the signaled information, such as the incoming call andsubscriber number is preferably not just passed on, for example, to anagent, but is also evaluated automatically, directly in the call center.For this purpose, a (caller) profile which is associated with thesubscriber number of an incoming call for the call center is loaded froma databank in the call center. This profile can then be output directlyvia an output device, in particular a monitor, for example at an agent'sworkstation. There is thus no need for the agent to manually searchthrough a databank for a profile for a subscriber number. Particularlysince the signaling is based on the Internet Protocol, processing bymeans of a specific program on the PC is simple, for example in anInternet browser with an appropriate plug-in.

[0013] The profile may also be evaluated automatically directly in thecall center, thus taking over control of the call with which thatsubscriber number is associated. By way of example, the subscribernumbers of a major customer who has both simple questions as well asdifficult technical questions can be used, after evaluation in which theprofile is used to find out whether a caller requires generalinformation or detailed technical information, in the call center whichis connected to the switching center for passing on calls to a callcenter with appropriate technical experts. In this case, this means thatthe call center which is communicating with the switching center via theInternet Protocol connection carries out only a type of (intelligent)switching function.

[0014] Widely different applications are feasible on the basis of theentries in a profile, for example even passing on customers of asoftware company, who have different maintenance contracts including atechnical hotline, being passed on to call centers with differentservices, depending on the contract. A call center in which no agent isavailable can likewise automatically pass on an incoming call via theswitching center to another call center.

[0015] In a further preferred embodiment, call connections can also beset up between subscriber connections and a call center via the InternetProtocol connection between the call center and the switching center.The calls are then preferably transmitted directly via the InternetProtocol connection from the switching center to the call center, andvice versa, using the voice over IP (VolP) format. This is worthwhile asan alternative to a call connection via the conventional publictelephone network between a subscriber and a call center.

[0016] Since the call data is available in the Internet Protocol in thecall center, it is possible to distribute call data as widely asrequired via further Internet Protocol connections, and, above all, todistribute it worldwide, at low cost. By way of example, a company whichoperates call centers in foreign countries could pass calls relating todifficult technical problems via the Internet to experts in a centralcall center. This involves very little cost for a customer of a Company,since he just needs to call the appropriate central call center in hisown country, from where he is connected either via the Internet or viasome other long-distance data connection to experts in the Company'scentral call center.

[0017] In switching centers which are based on the EWSD digitalswitching system from the Siemens Company, it is possible, by way ofexample, to provide additional plug-in cards which have appropriatemeans for carrying out the method, as electronic circuits. Thecorresponding situation applies, of course, to private automatic branchexchanges (PABX) which are used, for example, in large Companies. Ifsuch a private automatic branch exchange in a large Company has meansfor carrying out the method, a Company call center can be linkeddirectly to this extension via a company-internal network. By way ofexample, the company-internal network may be an Intranet, via which datais transmitted using the Internet Protocol. Incoming calls for theCompany which are directed to the call center are then passed ondirectly from the private automatic branch exchange via the company'sown network to the call center.

[0018] The switching center preferably has a transmission unit fortransmission of calls using the voice over IP (Internet Protocol)format. This makes it possible to signal not only incoming calls for thecall center but also the corresponding subscriber numbers, while callsbetween subscribers and a call center are also transmitted via theInternet Protocol connection between the call center and the switchingcenter.

[0019] Finally, in one preferred embodiment of the switching center, areceiving unit is provided for reception of control information, sothat, in particular, it is possible to set up and clear calls between asubscriber and a call center from the call center via the InternetProtocol connection between the call center and the switching center. Inthis embodiment, by way of example, the acceptance of a call by an agentis not controlled via a conventional public telephone line between thecall center and the switching center, but directly via the InternetProtocol connection, and this may be done conveniently, by way ofexample, by an agent's PC which is linked to the computer network at thecall center.

[0020] A computer is preferably provided in the call center, which isconnected via an Internet Protocol connection to a switching center and,via this connection, receives signaling for calls detected for the callcenter, and the associated subscriber numbers. At the same time, thiscomputer will pass on the received subscriber numbers to the databankserver, which in turn searches for an appropriate (caller) profile forthat subscriber number from a databank, and loads this profile. Theprofile may be transmitted directly to an agent's PC, on whose monitorit is then output. If the profiles are evaluated automatically, thedatabank server will preferably pass on the loaded profiles to anevaluation computer, in which evaluation rules are stored, on the basisof which the profile is evaluated, with appropriate actions beinginitiated. The actions control, in particular, the setting up orclearing of call connections, or the passing on of calls between thecall center and the subscriber connection.

[0021] In summary, a high degree of automation of the signaling andprocessing of incoming calls for the call center is achieved not only bythe method according to the invention but also by a correspondingswitching center and the corresponding call center.

[0022] An exemplary embodiment of the invention will now be described inthe following text, in conjunction with the single FIGURE.

[0023] A large number of subscriber connections 2, 3 are connected to aswitching center 4 via the public telephone network (PSTN: PublicSwitched Telephone Network). The subscriber connections 2 and 3 areanalog connections, for which, in the case of outgoing calls from thesubscriber connections, the subscriber number, that is to say thetelephone number associated with that subscriber connection, istransmitted to the switching center 4.

[0024] The switching center 4 is connected to a call center 1 via anInternet Protocol connection 5. The switching center 4 has a detector 8for detection of incoming calls for the call center 1. In the simplestembodiment, the detector 8 compares the destination number transmittedfrom the calling subscriber connection with the telephone numberassociated with the call center 1 and, if the destination numbercorresponds to the telephone number of the call center 1, passes on thesubscriber number of the calling subscriber connection to a signalingunit 9. The signaling unit 9 in turn transmits the subscriber number toan IP (Internet Protocol) transmission unit 10, to which it signals anincoming call for the call center 1. The IP transmission unit 10 “packs”the transmitted subscriber number and the signaling for an incoming callinto the Internet Protocol, and transmits the corresponding data via theInternet Protocol connection 5 to the call center 1.

[0025] The call center 1 receives the data in the Internet Protocol in areceiving unit 13 for signaling, which receiving unit 13 uses thereceived data in the Internet Protocol to decode the subscriber numberand signaling for an incoming call. The receiving unit 13 then transmitsthe subscriber number to a search and loading unit 16, which uses thetransmitted subscriber number to generate a search instruction for adatabank server 14, and transmits this instruction to this databankserver 14.

[0026] The databank server 14 has a databank computer 15, and a databank6 connected to it. The databank computer 15 now uses the received searchinstruction to search the databank 6 for any profile which may bepresent relating to that subscriber number, that is to say for a datarecord. If a data record or a profile is found, the databank computer 15transmits this data record or profile to the search and loading unit 16,which in turn displays the data record or the profile on a monitor 7 atan agent's workstation in the call center. In parallel with this, thesearch and loading unit 16 transmits the data record or the profile toan evaluation unit 17, in which rules for evaluation of profiles arestored. The evaluation unit 17 then uses the stored rules and thereceived profile or data record to determine control informationrelating to the setting up of a connection or the passing on of thecorresponding call for the call center 1. The determined controlinformation is “packed” by the evaluation unit 17 into the InternetProtocol, and is transmitted via the Internet Protocol connection 5 tothe IP transmission unit 10 in the switching center 4.

[0027] The control information is evaluated by means of a receiving unit12 for control information in the IP transmission unit 10, and isfurther processed by the switching center 4. The control information mayrelate, in particular, to the setting up of a call connection betweenthe calling subscriber connection and an agent in the call center 1. Forthis purpose, the call connection may be set up via the InternetProtocol connection 5 between the switching center 4 and the call center1.

[0028] The IP transmission unit 10 has a voice over IP unit 11, whichconverts call signals to the voice over IP format for transmission viathe Internet Protocol connection 5. The call signals in the voice overIP format are then passed on, in the call center 1, directly via theInternet to the agent's workstation. At the agent's workstation, thereceived data in the voice over IP format must be converted back to callsignals, in order to make it possible to reproduce them via aloudspeaker. Conversely, the agent's speech must be converted via amicrophone into electrical signals, which are in turn converted to thevoice over IP format and are transmitted via the Internet and theInternet Protocol connection 5 from the call center 1 to the switchingcenter 4. In the switching center 4, the voice over IP unit 11 convertsthe received data to call signals for transmission via the publictelephone network to the calling subscriber connection. At the agent'sworkstation, apparatuses are provided for conversion of the voice overIP data to call signals for reproduction via a loudspeaker and, in theopposite direction, apparatuses are provided for conversion of theelectrical call signals, which are supplied from a microphone, to voiceover IP data. This may be either an Internet telephone, which issuitable for Internet telephony, or a PC with CIT functionality.

[0029] The embodiment of the invention is not restricted to the examplesdescribed above, and a large number of modified forms are likewisepossible, which are within the scope of specialist knowledge. Inparticular, the invention need not be implemented exclusively via theInternet, but can be implemented in a general form on the basis of datanetworks with a suitable transmission protocol—in particular other IPnetworks.

1. A method for signaling and processing incoming calls for a callcenter (1), with the incoming calls for the call center (1) beingreceived together with the subscriber number of a calling subscriber (2,3) from a switching center (4), and the switching center (4) detectingthe calls as calls for the call center (1), characterized in that theswitching center uses an IP protocol connection (5) to signal to thecall center (1) the detected calls and the respectively associatedsubscriber numbers, and the call center (1) controls the signaled callsvia the IP protocol connection (5) through the switching center (4). 2.The method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that a caller profilewhich is associated with the subscriber number is loaded from a databank(6) in the call center (1) on the basis of a signaled subscriber number,and the profile is output via an output device, in particular a monitor(7).
 3. The method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that acaller profile which is associated with a subscriber number is loadedfrom a databank (6) in the call center (1) on the basis of a signaledsubscriber number, the caller profile is evaluated, and the call withwhich the subscriber number is associated is controlled as a function ofthe evaluation.
 4. The method as claimed in one of the preceding claims,characterized in that a call connection is also set up between thesubscriber connection of the subscriber (2, 3) and the call center (1)via the IP protocol connection (5) between the call center (1) and theswitching center (4), and call signals are transmitted using the voiceover IP format via the Internet Protocol connection (5).
 5. A switchingcenter (4) which, for signaling of incoming calls for a call center (1),has a detector (8) for incoming calls for the call center (1), asignaling unit (9) for signaling the calls which are detected for thecall center (1), and for signaling the respectively associatedsubscriber numbers, and a transmission unit (10) for transmission of thesignaling via an IP protocol connection (5).
 6. The switching center asclaimed in claim 5, characterized in that a transmission unit (11) isprovided for transmission of call signals using the voice over IP formatvia the IP protocol connection (5).
 7. The switching center as claimedin claim 5 or 6, characterized in that a receiving unit (12) is providedfor reception of control information for signaled calls via the InternetProtocol connection (5).
 8. A call center (1), which has: a receivingunit (13) for reception of signaling of calls which are detected for thecall center and for signaling the associated subscriber numbers, adatabank server (14) with a databank (6), a search and loading unit (15,16) for searching for and loading caller profiles from the databank (6)in the databank server (14), a display unit (7) for displaying thecaller profiles, and/or an evaluation unit (17) for evaluation of thecaller profiles and/or subscriber numbers, and for transmission ofcontrol signals for controlling signaled calls.